Teach to the Top: Aiming High for Every Learner

by Megan Mansworth

Overview

Teach to the Top is a research-informed guide to aspirational teaching, focusing on how embedding higher-level knowledge in the classroom empowers students to succeed and to enjoy learning. Questioning existing orthodoxies around ability, Teach to the Top sets out a vision for an education system in which pupils of all attainment levels are enabled to make fantastic progress by being exposed to sophisticated concepts, and afforded opportunities to think deeply and grapple with stimulating ideas. Making a convincing case for the centrality of subject knowledge, the book also shows how affording teachers the professional autonomy to participate in continual development of their own knowledge benefits both teachers and students. As well as engaging critically with a wealth of educational research, Teach to the Top outlines a plethora of research-informed strategies for teaching to the top. Topics include embedding advanced knowledge in curriculum planning, approaches to challenging classroom talk, the fundamental importance of increasing learners’ confidence, the dangers of differentiation and grade-focused feedback, and the value of an adaptable approach to planning. Both thoughtful and practical, Teach to the Top develops a persuasive justification for the entitlement of every child to higher-level knowledge, alongside providing teachers with a range of practical suggestions and questions for reflection to enable the application of this philosophy to their own classrooms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913622756
Publisher:	Hodder Education Group
Publication date:	10/20/2021
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	0.23(w) x 0.33(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Megan Mansworth is an experienced teacher and leader who has taught English and guided students to achieve outstanding results across a variety of state secondary schools, from leafy suburban to inner-city schools. Her previous leadership roles include being Leader of Research and Leader of English for two multi-academy trusts. Alongside this, her writing on education has been published in a range of national media publications and academic journals. She has also delivered CPD on a national level and has co-edited a book on teaching A Level English Language and Literature.
Megan is in the final stages of her PhD in Literary Linguistics at Aston University, where she has lectured on undergraduate and postgraduate modules in the School of English.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

Reframing teaching to the top 11

Chapter 1 Building the foundations: developing high-level subject knowledge 15

It begins with your knowledge 15

A continual state of knowledge development 17

Developing individual subject knowledge 18

Subject knowledge as a communal endeavour 20

Owning and sharing our expertise 23

Being brave enough to make subject knowledge a whole school priority 25

Chapter 2 Embedding challenge across the curriculum: ideology and mindset 27

An ideology of high-level knowledge in curricula 27

A caveat to the ideology of challenge 30

Fostering a collective mindset of challenge 31

Ongoing reflection on teaching to the top 33

Planning for challenge in the curriculum 34

Chapter 3 Thinking hard and challenging students conceptually 37

Thinking hard 37

Planning for accessible challenge 40

The simplifying nature of complex concepts 42

Chapter 4 Teaching to the top, not the test 45

The harmful consequences of grade-focused teaching 45

Aiming for the top, not the test 47

The problem with the ZPD 50

High-level examples and practising perfect form 51

Balance and framing 52

Chapter 5 The dangers of differentiation 57

Differentiation by expectation: why it prevents us from teaching to the top 57

Differentiation by setting: placing limits on learning 59

Differentiating for pupils at the top: surely we are meant to 'stretch and challenge' our highest prior attainers? 62

The Values cost' of ability grouping 64

Teaching to the top in a system that pushes some to the bottom 66

Chapter 6 Teaching to the top with flexibility, adaptability and spontaneity 69

The problem with set lesson structures 69

The value of flexibility 71

Unexpected directions and the benefits of responsive teaching 71

Reflecting on unexpected learning opportunities 76

Chapter 7 Creative approaches in the high challenge classroom 79

Resisting dichotomies, seeking balance 79

Challenging students through dialogic learning 82

Challenging questioning 83

Counterfactual thinking 85

Students as questioners, researchers and presenters 86

Creativity and teaching to the top 87

Chapter 8 Giving students the confidence to reach for the top 91

Self-esteem and self-perception 91

Breaking the academic self-concept vicious circle: high challenge, high encouragement 93

Increasing motivation alongside confidence 97

Habitus, cultural capital and the confidence to reach for the top 98

Conclusion 103

Aspiration for our students 103

Creating space for success 104

References 107

Index 107